Clinical trials provide the unbiased evidence essential for improving treatments in all areas of medicine. For children with cancer the development of safe treatments that work has relied on high quality…
The High Court has found that Indigenous disadvantage needs to be taken into account during sentencing.
AAP Image/Marianna Massey
How long should a criminal’s past history and background remain relevant in a court of law? That was the question before the High Court earlier this week in the case of William Bugmy. Bugmy, a 29 year-old…
Two women wearing niqabs in France. The traditional Islamic garment has caused controversy in the UK after a judge forced a woman to remove hers to give evidence in court.
EPA/Ian Langsdon
The rights and wrongs of women wearing niqabs to give evidence have been the subject of an English court decision and much social and media debate recently. Over the past few years, the issue has also…
Studying law can be confronting and can lead some students to depression or anxiety. But what can be done about it?
Law school graduate image from www.shutterstock.com
As law teachers, we have plenty of hopes for our students. Upon graduating, we want them to have a good grounding in legal knowledge and to be creative thinkers. We also hope they will come out of law…
Indonesian military officers have been caught up in people smuggling rings, but what actually happens to the kingpins of these operations?
AAP/Karlis Salna
Against widely held opinion in Australia that Indonesia is not doing anything to stop people smugglers from shipping asylum seekers to Australia, Indonesia has, in fact, stepped up its activities to curb…
Nothing on the box? The Home Office is providing a new source of entertainment.
ukhomeoffice
In the week that saw the British press rightly condemning the use of Twitter to send violent threats to several women, the Home Office started to use the social media site to publicise operations to carry…
Where can I plug in my laptop? Courtrooms are due a digital makeover
Fayerollinson
The UK courts are to be dragged into the 21st century with a £160 million investment to help them go digital. Announcing its plans, the Ministry of Justice revealed that the courts get through a staggering…
New legislation, if passed next week, will be an important step towards better protection for whistelblowers.
Whistle image from www.shutterstock.com
After six different parliamentary committees over 20 years, and commitments from all sides of politics, the test is now on for the final week of the current federal parliament. Federal leaders have certainly…
To assess the risk of a schizophrenic attack, we try to work out the risk of a rare event in a bunch of people with a mixed bag of symptoms.
Flickr/daniellehelm
A violent attack by someone who is mentally ill quickly grabs the headlines. And it’s usually implied that mental illnesses are a preventable cause of violent crime. Tackle that and we can all sleep safer…
The murder of Melbourne woman Jill Meagher sparked much social media comment, some of which threatened to compromise the criminal trial of the accused.
AAP/Facebook
This week, the Standing Council on Law and Justice (which constitutes the attorneys-general of the Commonwealth, states and territories) published a report on the impact of social media on juries. The…
NSW Attorney General Greg Smith (center) claims that previous laws guaranteeing the right to silence were easily exploited by criminals.
AAP/Dean Lewins
The right to silence when being interviewed or questioned by police would be considered a fundamental legal right by many people. But it is not a “right” you can exercise in New South Wales any more. The…
Copyright law could make the job of creating Massive Open Online Courses more difficult.
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Another university has jumped on the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) bandwagon this month, with the Australian National University joining up with Harvard venture edX. In ANU’s case, it will enable Nobel…
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Health Minister Tanya Plibersek during Question Time at Parliament House in 2012.
Penny Bradfield/AAP
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Health Minister Tanya Plibersek have announced they will return health payments to Victoria that had previously been cut from its allocation under the National Health Reform…
An Australian navy vessel escorts asylum seekers to Christmas Island-but what are our obligations to other vessels?
AAP Image/Scott Fisher
Australia, like all coastal states, is under an absolute obligation to undertake rescue at sea wherever and whenever necessary. It is not, however, immediately apparent that this is the case. A question…
NSW premier Barry O'Farrell needs to reform the law to give Sydney University more responsibility for its colleges.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
Why is the University of Sydney powerless to stop bullying behaviour in what the public sees as “its colleges”? This has been a constant refrain in recent weeks as the controversy surrounding the behaviour…
Robert Bagie, Olive Bagie, adopted son Ramsley Woosup and Mimia Whap were afraid of flying after losing a family member in the Lockhart river crash.
AAP/Jade Bilowol
A couple of weeks ago, Justice Henry of the Queensland Supreme Court handed down judgement in favour of the families of five people killed in the tragic Lockhart River plane crash in 2005. The court awarded…
Rape as a weapon of war needs to stop – but how can local and international communities help?
EPA/Nicolas Postal
During the chaos of war, rape is used by the powerful as a deliberate strategy to destroy any opposition. The law, seemingly, has little role to play. After all, during conflict the normal rules of law…
The final pieces of the historical puzzle around the 1975 Whitlam dismissal are not as sensational as they first seem.
Image courtesy of National Archives of Australia. NAA: A6180, 13/11/75/33
Much hyperbole has been generated by the recent revelations concerning Sir Anthony Mason’s involvement in the 1975 dismissal, but for the most part it shows ignorance of the past. Earlier this week, The…
Schools fear of litigation could be driving bans on “risky” playground activities - like cartwheeling.
Cartwheel image from www.shutterstock.com
A few schools have hit the headlines recently for banning traditional playground activities like cartwheels, handstands, ball games and even high fives. Parents are rightly objecting to the bans, and pointing…
Queensland Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie is resisting pressure to make changes to the state’s provocation laws.
AAP/Dave Hunt
Murder is the most serious of all violent crimes, and needs a determined criminal justice response. If there are circumstances in which a killing might be seen as wholly or partly excusable, then this…